Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 1, 2025 (24/02/2025 - 21/06/2025)
- Study level
- Postgraduate Coursework
- Location
- St Lucia
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Law School
This course will examine contemporary issues in public and regulatory law. Topics will vary from year to year, drawing on the innovative research of TC Beirne School of Law academic staff, as well as the expertise of visiting scholars and leading practitioners. Please refer to the Law School website for current topics.
A typical range of topics will include issues relating to criminal law, human rights, constitutional law, the law of political institutions, environmental law, and administrative law.
The topic in Semester 1, 2025 is: Protecting Human Rights in the Public Sector
Course requirements
Restrictions
Students in LLM 16 or LLM 24 unit programs only
Course contact
Course coordinator
Course staff
Lecturer
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Aims and outcomes
The aim of this course is to introduce students to domestic human rights instruments in Australia, particularly the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) and equivalent legislation in the Australian Capital Territory and Victoria. The course will unpack the obligations placed on each of the three branches of government, including front-end scrutiny for proposed legislation; the requirement to interpret legislation, if possible, compatibly with human rights; and the obligations of public entities to act compatibly with human rights whenever they perform an act or make a decision. The course will then look at how these operative provisions play out in particular contexts, including in prison environments, the mental health sector, social housing tenancies and criminal proceedings. Finally, emerging human rights issues related to the protection of socio-economic rights and the impacts of climate change will be explored.
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Understand the common features of human rights legislation in Australia, particularly the sources of the protected rights in the International Bill of Rights, the dialogue model and the culture of justification.
LO2.
Identify when a human right is limited, by reference to domestic and internal materials on the scope and underlying values of the right.
LO3.
Apply a structured proportionality test for justifying limits on human rights in accordance with s 13 of the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) and the equivalent general limitations clauses in the Australian Capital Territory and Victoria.
LO4.
Understand the mechanisms for front-end scrutiny of proposed legislation and subordinate legislation, including statements of compatibility and override declarations.
LO5.
Apply the interpretative clause to interpret legislation, so far as possible, in a way that is compatible with human rights, and if a human rights-compatible interpretation is not possible, understand when it would be appropriate for the Supreme Court to make a declaration of incompatibility.
LO6.
Understand the substantive and procedural limbs of the human rights obligations imposed on public entities or public authorities, and understand how to challenge a breach of those obligations in court or tribunal proceedings using the “piggy back” clause.
LO7.
Appreciate the scope of the rights to equality and privacy in detail, including the internal limitations of special measures and arbitrariness.
LO8.
Identify the human rights that are most relevant to vulnerable cohorts such as prisoners, people navigating the mental health system, social housing tenants, criminal defendants, and First Nations peoples.
LO9.
Understand the unique aspects of socio-economic rights such as the rights to health and education, including the duty of progressive realisation.
LO10.
Be aware of emerging human rights issues related to advancements in technology and the impacts of climate change.
Assessment
Assessment summary
Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
---|---|---|---|
Essay/ Critique |
Essay/ Critique, Tutorial/ Problem Set
|
40% |
7/04/2025 2:00 pm |
Essay/ Critique |
Research Essay
|
60% |
9/06/2025 2:00 pm |
Assessment details
Essay/ Critique, Tutorial/ Problem Set
- Online
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Essay/ Critique
- Weight
- 40%
- Due date
7/04/2025 2:00 pm
Task description
The assessment task is to prepare written submissions for court or tribunal proceedings, raising a human rights argument, in the scenario provided to students in the first seminar. The submissions will not need to address any non-human rights ground.
Word limit: 3,000 words excluding footnotes and court header.
This assessment task is to be completed in-person. The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools will not be permitted. Any attempted use of AI may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Submission guidelines
Assignments must be submitted electronically via the submission link on the course Blackboard site.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Extension to Assessment Due Date
Where an extension for an assessment item due within the teaching period in which the course is offered is available, any extension is limited to one week (7 days). In exceptional circumstances, extensions may be granted for more than one week, but in no case will an extension exceed four weeks (28 days) in total. Where a student is incapacitated for a period exceeding four weeks of the teaching period, they should apply for removal of course.
A student may apply for an extension to assessment due date if they are unable to meet an assessment deadline due to extenuating circumstances. Please refer to the Applying for an extension page on my.UQ for further details on acceptable reasons for an extension and for instructions on how to apply. Additional information on extensions can be found within the Assessment Procedure.
Spoken or written notification of difficulties with assessment deadlines to a course coordinator or the School does not constitute an authorised extension.
Applications to be submitted before the due date: Applications for extension (whether they be medical or exceptional circumstances) shall be made by the due date and time for the assessment. Requests for extensions received after the assessment item submission due date and time, must include evidence of the reason for the late request, and will require the decision maker listed in the Student Grievance Resolution Procedure to accept the request for consideration.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Penalties for Late Submission
The following penalties apply to late submission of an assessment item, assuming that an extension has not been approved, and that late submission is academically possible (e.g., it does not delay feedback to a cohort, or interfere with course delivery).
First 7 periods of 24 hours (or part thereof) - 10% per 24 hours of the maximum possible mark for the assessment item. For example, a report worth a maximum of 40 marks, submitted 28 hours late will attract a penalty of 8 marks, calculated as 2 periods of 24 hours x 10% x 40 marks.
More than 7 periods of 24 hours - 100%.
Research Essay
- Online
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Essay/ Critique
- Weight
- 60%
- Due date
9/06/2025 2:00 pm
Task description
Your task is to write a 5,000 word academic research essay on a current issue in human rights. You may choose one of the four topics suggested below or you can choose your own topic. If you choose your own topic, you have to send a 200 word essay plan to the course co-ordinator and get approval before you can start on your topic.
The paper must be based on current and relevant literature, include a clear hypothesis or research problem and present a balanced argument. This means you are required to read and reference literature which supports and literature which criticises your hypothesis. You are also required to reference any thought which is not your own or is considered general knowledge. Research essays should be structured with an introduction, body and conclusion.
Research essay topics:
- Consistent decision-making promotes the right to equality before the law. But automated decision-making also has the potential to create harsh outcomes. Can automated decision-making using artificial intelligence be substantively compatible with human rights, and if so, in what circumstances? Would implementing such an approach comply with the procedural limb?
- Victims of crime have human rights, by virtue of being human, including the rights to life, property and security of the person. Is there a case for including more specific victims’ rights in Australia’s human rights legislation? Would including such rights fit the philosophy and structure of the legislation? What would be the benefits and downsides?
- In significant human rights cases on the impacts of climate change, courts have used the concept of a carbon budget to determine whether a measure or failure to adopt a measure has such a large impact on the remaining carbon budget that it amounts to a breach of human rights. Can human rights still offer a useful frame of reference if the carbon budget is exhausted? How should impacts on human rights be assessed in a post-carbon budget world?
- Have the Human Rights Acts been effective in creating a culture of engaging with human rights questions, or does Australian exceptionalism persist? What are the reasons why the Human Rights Acts have or have not been effective in creating a human rights culture in governments, parliaments and the legal profession in Australia compared to most other Westminster systems?
- Choose your own topic (you have to get approval from the course co-ordinator).
This assessment task is to be completed in-person. The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools will not be permitted. Any attempted use of AI may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Submission guidelines
Assignments must be submitted electronically via the submission link on the course Blackboard site.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 7 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Extension to Assessment Due Date
Where an extension for an assessment item due within the teaching period in which the course is offered is available, any extension is limited to one week (7 days). In exceptional circumstances, extensions may be granted for more than one week, but in no case will an extension exceed four weeks (28 days) in total. Where a student is incapacitated for a period exceeding four weeks of the teaching period, they should apply for removal of course.
A student may apply for an extension to assessment due date if they are unable to meet an assessment deadline due to extenuating circumstances. Please refer to the Applying for an extension page on my.UQ for further details on acceptable reasons for an extension and for instructions on how to apply. Additional information on extensions can be found within the Assessment Procedure.
Spoken or written notification of difficulties with assessment deadlines to a course coordinator or the School does not constitute an authorised extension.
Applications to be submitted before the due date: Applications for extension (whether they be medical or exceptional circumstances) shall be made by the due date and time for the assessment. Requests for extensions received after the assessment item submission due date and time, must include evidence of the reason for the late request, and will require the decision maker listed in the Student Grievance Resolution Procedure to accept the request for consideration.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Penalties for Late Submission
The following penalties apply to late submission of an assessment item, assuming that an extension has not been approved, and that late submission is academically possible (e.g., it does not delay feedback to a cohort, or interfere with course delivery).
First 7 periods of 24 hours (or part thereof) - 10% per 24 hours of the maximum possible mark for the assessment item. For example, a report worth a maximum of 40 marks, submitted 28 hours late will attract a penalty of 8 marks, calculated as 2 periods of 24 hours x 10% x 40 marks.
More than 7 periods of 24 hours - 100%.
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
Grade | Cut off Percent | Description |
---|---|---|
1 (Low Fail) | 0 - 19 |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. |
2 (Fail) | 20 - 47 |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. |
3 (Marginal Fail) | 48 - 49 |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes |
4 (Pass) | 50 - 64 |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. |
5 (Credit) | 65 - 74 |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. |
6 (Distinction) | 75 - 84 |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. |
7 (High Distinction) | 85 - 100 |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. |
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
Learning resources
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Library resources
Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.
Additional learning resources information
Reading list will be available on Blackboard site.
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
---|---|---|
Multiple weeks From Week 2 To Week 13 |
Seminar |
Seminars The seminar topics are: 1. Introduction: what are human rights, the dialogue model and the culture of justification 2. Proportionality 3. The role of the legislature 4. The role of courts 5. The role of the executive (or more broadly, public entities) 6. The many dimensions of the rights to equality and privacy 7. Prisoners’ rights 8. Mental health and social housing 9. Political rights 10. Rights of criminal defendants 11. Socio-economic rights 12. First Nations rights and rights related to climate change |
Additional learning activity information
Reading will be available on Blackboard site.
Policies and procedures
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.
School guidelines
Your school has additional guidelines you'll need to follow for this course: